Loading machinery



March 18, 19302 J. L. cLARKsoN 1,750,876

' LOADING MACHINERY Filed. Jan. 19. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet March 18, 1930. J. l.. cLARKsoN LOADING MACHINERY 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed Jan. 19

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LOADING MACHINERY Filed Jan. 19. 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 March 18, 1930.

March 18, 1930. J.-L.. cLARKsoN 1,750876 LQADING MACHINERY I Filed Jan. 19, 1927 4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented Mar. 18, 1930 PATENT ori-fica JOHN n cnannsom 0F NASHVILLE; ILLINOIS nonnina Maonrnnny Application led January' I9, 327. SerailNU; 16%,9841

has for its principal` objects. to. producev a comparatively simple and compactr structure possessing the, requisite crowding power with a widefdigging range both vertically and lat-- erally,l to provide for the utilization of thel f machine on a multiple track system; to proV vide for convenience in controlling and op.- erating the lrnaehine. and minimize theamount of physical labor in connection therewith; and to attain certain advantages, will. more f fully app-earI in the following description..

The invention consists in the novel con struction in. its general arrangement and in thel partsA and combinations and arrangement ofu parts thereof as hereinafter described, and

f afterwards pointed outT with particularity inthe appended claims.

Fig. l isV a sidevel-evation ot the complete machine. Y

Eig. Il. is a top, plan view of the forward or digging end portionot the machine.

Fig. III isi a vertical longitudinal section through the: portion of the machine asv shown inV Fig; Il.,

ldig. IV is a vertical longitudinal section of therea-r or' loading end portion of theimachine.

Fig. Y is a top' plan view of the rear or loading end portion as shown in Fig. lV.

Vl is a crosssecti on. on the line Vlr-.VI

' of Il.

wheels 2, said Wheels.l 2 riding on the rails 3 ofy ay regular trackway. The front and rear axles of the truck are geared together', asl by an ordinary sprocket and chain belt drivey 4:, so that the, one.- is driven bythe other. The rear axle is belted, as at 6, to aI countershatt 7, which latter is provided with a large gear 8 mesh with a pinion 9 on the 1100 admotor 11;. `Qbviously, thecountershafftl may be continuously rotated, and therefore,l a suitable clutch. arrangement. is provided' under control of the, operator for ei'efizting; 21.55,

driving, connectionv between said shaft, the, normally loose sprocket. thereon. drives the chain. 6,. it, understood, of course, that this clutch mechanism is provided with a, suitable reversing; gear arrange a()L ment. whereby the carriage 1 may be moved: in. either a forward *or rearward direction the tracleway, at will." TheV details oli mechanism are not illustrated in thedrawings, but the approximate location. ofthe same is indicated. by the. dotted outline,fas at... l2 (Fig- V).

On opposite sides off the'carri'age. 1 are located hydraulic jacks 1.3,. the'A same. compris,- ingk vertically disposed cylinders which are secured to the. sideframe membersA of the can,v ria-ge by bracket' members 1.1i.. These fgaelsr4 are. ofthe compensating or equalizing type that. iste say, provision is. made therein so. that thev lower plunger or the. piston. entension l5, carrying the shoe 16, is first .1nove.d, under the application. oi' the pressure in the cylinder, until said shoelf3-bears upon. the ground or floor surtace,'atter which the upperI plunger l?, carrying the shoe 18 continues.A its upward movement. until said, shoe l8r is brought against the roof or other solid' abutment provided therefor in the compartinent` or. tunnel. in which the machine. is: operating. By this provision the carriage is firmly held. in its operating location.l

The. pressure for the. jacks 13, as well. as. the several other hydraulic appliances. to be hereinafter described, is supplied from a pump 19' (Figs. IV and V,v the Huidbeing supplied from a reserve tan 20. The pump is operated from a cam shaft 2l which has a large. gear 22 thereomthe` latter being.' driven by a smaller gear 2.23 on the countershaft thatvis driven by the motor-1l as irst, abovedescribed. ln practicethis pump is usually continuously operated in order to. maintain the required pressure. for the several'hydraulie,l appliances, on the machine, and provision is made: in theI customary mam-ier for relief valves in the several pressure systems, so that when the predetermined pressure is reached therein the excess Huid is returned to the reserve tank 2 0. .These features are quite obvious, and therefore it is deemed unnecesi'sary to illustrate f The forward portions of these'a'rnis25 are rigidly connected' byan arcuatecross mem ber.28", thereby constituting a rigid frame,

said Yframe havingv roller bearings 29 which "riderong an arcuate trackway 30 in the lower 1 portion ofna forwardly extending bracket framel r3l`on the cross support 32 ofthe carriageA lin which themain pivot 24 is jour- Y n'aled.

. cable being carried rearward in parallel re? themiddle ofthe Vcross'ymember28 is a depending stud 33 to which the ends of a cable 34 are attached, said cable. being passed Y` overa'seri'esfof groovedipulleys ori'dlers 35' e, arranged in a ychanneled portion `36 of theV bracket frame 3l under the arcuate trackwayA 3 0'thereof, the intermediate'portion of the relation at opposite sides of the carriage Y1,

Y Vthence'inwardfaro'und idlers 37, and having.

itsmiddle portion loopedaround a grooved Y pulley 38 between said two opposed idlers 3'?" Thepulley 38 is secured -on'Ya stub shaft plates 64 on the inner faces of which are lony which is mounted on the undersideof the 4car- Y.; By actuating the piston oft-he cylinder 43'V yriag'eY l andy has thereon a pinion40, withl ywhich latter cooperates a toothed rack bar 41 l Y portions of a cross connecting platev 66. On

extending from the end of the plunger 42 of a piston working in a hydraulic cylinder'43`;

forward or rearward, as the case may be,"the

z operator-- willpull the carrier' frame 25v to the right or leftV on Vits" main-pivot 24 at the will of the Cooperating with` the carrier frame 25 is a supplemental supporting frame comprising the forwardly extending parallel side meme b ers 44 which are mounted at their inner ends about the axis thereof.

they frame members 25.

Secured on the 'forward end portionsjof the sideineinbers 44are upstanding brackets 51 having curved cam portions 52 terminatingl ered, as the'case maybe. Y

ulley 38 is accordingly rotated andv thecable:

latter, inward from the ends thereof, are roll-Y ers 54a which supporta carrier frame comprising the parallel side members 56 (Figs. VI and VII).

shaft 26,l said members .56 .preferably comprising channel iron sections having their anges outwardly disposed and beingcross connected at their undersides by a plate 58 frame, said plate 58 is reinforced by trackl The members 56 are secured Y YVto members 57 that are hingedron the cross Y. and, from aboutthe location of thev cross coii-V A necting member orYyokeK-55 to a point some distance towards the forward 'end of the must@ (Fig. iii) 0n Wine i the muets 54% shown in Fig. Il, ride. Y y Y Y Y Y Secured to the underside ofthe plate *58, as by a' combined attaching bracket and cyli,

inder head member 60, is a hydraulic cylinl- Y der'` 6l, from whose outer Vend projects a e plunger extension 62 of the piston within the cylinder, which latter is attachedr as at 63 tov the cross member or yoke V55. By this arrangement tlie inward and outward move# nient of thefpiston in the cylinder 6l effectsa simultaneous corresponding movementof the cross member or yoke 55, so that the rollers 54 Y accordingly ride upor downon the camv portions 52 of the frame members 44 while the Y rollers 54a ride on the rails 59 of the 'carrier frame, whereby saidframe is raised or low- Slidable endvvise von the side frame members 56 is a carriage comprising the side gitudinally extending angle reinforcements 65, to which latter are secured the marginal vthe outer faces of the plates 64 are secured longitudinal ycarrier members 67 which are substantially Z-shaped in cross section,'one

iiangeof the member being riveted' or other` wise suitably fastened solidly to the plate 64 f and the other flange, whichis offset from said f plateV 64, having an inturned flange-portion or longitudinal rib 68 which works in av lon- Y gitudinal guide groove in the outer side of the side frame member 56, said guide groove being preferably formed byplacing filler members 69 against the flanges of said frame member in spaced relation to each other and lining the groove with strips of bronze or otlier'suitable anti-friction bearing metal 70.

Secured to the outer end portions ofthe plates 64 is a digging and shoveling'bit 71 in the form of a heavy casting or forging which is Ybeveled to ka sharp-cutting edge 72 Y.

(Figs. l and III), said cutting edge portion being notched as at 73 (Fig. II). Y Y Y The carriage just above described is actuated in its endwisel movement on the car.- rier frame members 56 by the power of two parallel hydraulic cylinders 74 which arev secured at their inner ends, as at 75, to the upper end portions of bracket members 76., which latter are rmly secured on the rocking members 57 so as to swing with the carrier frame. The respective pistons in said cylinders 74 have plunger extensions 77 which are securely attached' to said carriage members 67 by bracket extensions thereof, as at 78. By this arrangement the two cooperating cylinders 74 may be jointly operated to move the carriage to its forwardly extended position and under sufiicient crowding power to cause the bit 71 to dig into the mass of coal or material being mined, and toretract the carriage in the operation of the machine as will presently be more fully described.

Looped around a cross-bar 7 9 adjacent to the digging and shoveling bit 7l and suitable sprockets adjustably supported at the inner end portions of the side plates 64 ofthe carriage, as at 81 (Fig. lll), is an endless belt conveyor comprising the chains 82 andv cross-bars 83. |The upper iight of this conveyor rides over the plate 66 of the carriage, while the lower flight thereof rides on the plate 58 of the carrier frame (Figs. VI and VII).

Near the forward end of the carrier frame members 56 are bearings 84 in which a cross shaft 85 is journaled (Fig. Vl). On this shaft are keyed two sprocket wheels 86 which project upward through slotted openings in the plate 58 so that the lower flights of the chains 82 can ride thereover. On the outer end portions of this shaft 85 are clutch members 87 which are keyed thereto so as to rotate therewith but are capable of endwise movement thereon, said clutch members 87 being pressed by springs 88 within a cylindrical housing 89 secured removably to the ends ofl the` shaft, as at 90, whereby said clutch members are yieldably held in engagement with friction driving disks 91, which latter are journaled loosely on said shaft 85, and by whichr arrangement said shaft and friction driving disks are rotatable, the one by the other in one direction, but are independently rotatable in the opposite direction. These friction driving disks 91 are held in contact with the undersides of the carriage members 67 by an arrangement of lever arms 92 which are hinged, as at 93, to the underside of the carrier frame, and spring-pressed as at 94, said lever arms 92 being located so as to bear against the undersides of the journal bearings 84 which are movably mounted in suitable guideways and thereby tending to lift the cross-shaft 85 under the action of said spring 94. Thus, when the carriage is moved endwise in either direction, said friction disks 91 are rotated, and in one direction of movement of said carriage, the for- 7 ward, said shaft 85 is rotated with said disks owing to the interlocked arrangement of the` engaging teeth between the hub portion of said disks and the clutch members 87,4 while on the return rearward movement of the care riage said disks 91 rotate, but the shaft 85 ceases to rotate as the clutch teeth slip due to the resistance of the conveyor chains on the sprockets 86. Y

As the carriage moves forward under the power of the hydraulic cylinders 74 the.v sprockets 86 are rotated with the disksA 91 as above described, and,y consequently, the conveyor is caused to travel with its upper flight running rearward, whereby any` material picked up by the bit at the forwardend of the carriage is conveyed rearward therefrom. On the return stroke; of the car'- riage, however, the conveyor ceases to travel: and remains idle throughout each return stroke of the carriage.v

Connecting the forward end portions of. the side members 44 of the supplemental supporting frame is a cross-bar or yoke 95 con-` stituting a shoe adapted to rest on the ground or floor surface of the compartment inwhich the machine is being operated, whereby to support the frame in its lowered position during the digging and shoveli-ng operation. of the machine, to and' from which position said frame is moved by the operation of the controlling hydraulic cylinders 48, and from which position said frame hasto be lifted prior to the swinging of the frame about the axis of main pivot 24 of the machine, or

whenit is desired'to move the carriage. lon

the trackway 3.

Pivoted on the carriage `1, rearward from the main pivot 24, as at 96, is a conveyor frame 97 havingia lower horizontal portion inthe region of the pivot 96 and ajh inclined portion extending upward and rearward therefrom` rlhe inclined portion of the conveyor frame is provided with an arcuate track member 98 which rides on a series of grooved rollers 9.9

which are j ournaled in a corresponding arc-l uate supporting frame 100 (Fig. IV). y s

In order to effect the swinging of the frame 97 laterally on its axis 96, a cable 101 is se- Cured at its ends to the side members of 'the frame, as at 102, and its middle portion is looped around a grooved pulley 103 which is mounted on a stub shaft 104 jo-urnaled on the underside of the carriage 1. [Gn the shaft 104 is a pinion 105 which is engaged by a rack bar 106 extending from the end of the plunger 107 which projects from the piston in the hydraulic cylinder 108. By this arrangement the conveyor frame is readily swung to the right or the left by moving the rack bar'106 forward or rearward, as the case may be] Hingedly mounted on the upper endV portion of the inclined conveyor frame 97 is a substantially horizontal extension frame 109 which, of course, is swingable laterally with. said frame 97 about the pivotal axis 96 therelil 0 of. This extension frame 109, however,l is separately tiltable up `and down about the horizontal aXis of its hinge'connection 110y with said frame 97 so as to bring the discharge end of said frame 109 to diderent elevations for convenience in loading cars of various heights. This tilting adjustment of the eX- tension'frame 109 is effected and maintained through the instrumentality of a winchV or windlass device comprising a drum 111A jour# naled in lateral bracket extensions 112 onone of the side members of the frame, said drum being operated by apcrank 113 throughthe intermediary of a suitable worm gearingforY spiral gearing 1.14. A'cable 115 iss-secured at one end to' the side member of the frame 109 opposite to that on whic'hthe winch is mounted, said cablebeing carried down and under a pulley 116 on the adjacent side of the` inclined conveyor frame 97, thence across and` under a like pulley on the opposite side or" said inclined conveyor frame, and then up to the drum 111, about which latter its opposite endis wound. By turning the crank 113- the drum 111 is rotated in either direction, at

will, thereby winding or unwinding the cable 115 thereon and thereby'leifecting the raisingA orlowering of the discharge end of said eX- y tension frame 109, in which adjusted position it; will remain owing to the 4arrangement oi the worm or spiral gearing 114 which functions as a lock for vthe drum except when said gearingis actuated by the crank 113.

On the conveyor frame 97 and the extension frame 109 Vis an` endless belt conveyor comprising the parallel side chains 117 and cross-connecting members 118. This,v conveyor is looped` around a cross-bar119 Vvat the forward end of the lower horizontal por tion of the frame.i 97 and a roller 120 at the discharge end of the frame 109 (Figs. III and IV), the Vvi'ipperliight ofthe conveyor Ybeing supported on-thefframe 109 by a plate 121 extending lengthwise thereof from the'- fregion ofthe roller 120 to a pointnear the juncture of said'frame`109 with the inclined portion of the frame 97 vand being vthere overlapped, as at 122, by the meeting end portion of a plate 123, which latter follows the contour of'sa'id frame 97 and ksupports the upper flight of the conveyor thereon. y

The lower flight of the conveyor is supported on the underside of the extension frame 109 by a plateV 124 having the downwardly Vcurved end portions 125 which serve to prevent the conveyor catching thereon, and

the lower flights of the chains 117 travel andY are held in engagement therewith by shoes 129 (Fig. IV). Normally loose on the vshaft 128 is a driving sprocket 130 which may be locked tothe shaft at the will of the operastor, by the provision of a suitable clutch de vice 131. Said sprocket 130 is belted'by a chain 132 to a smaller sprocket 133 on a countershaft 134 which has a larger sprocket 135 thereonhthat is `in turn belted by the chainl 136 to a driving sprocket 137 k*on the shaftf138l of a motor 139.

By the foregoing arrangement it isfquite i obvious vthat if the sprocket wheels 127 are rotated under the power ofthekmotor 139 in the direction to carry the lower flight of the conveyor towards the forward end of the l carriage 1, the upper flight will travel ,in the opposite direction or towards the, discharge end of the frame 109. Consequently, the material discharged onto the lower forwardk portion of this conveyor fromthe conveyor on the digging and shoveling carriagev will Vso be carried up to and along the extension frame f vfrom which it may be finally discharged into cars, which latter are either brought up v to receiving position on the trackway 3,V oron a separate trackway on either side thereof, in which latter case said extension frame 109 may be accordingly swung to the right or the left, as the casemay be. Y Y

Y In the use of the machine of the present invention, it is readily propelled under its own power to the position on the'trackwayin working relation to the abutting breastwall from which the coal is t0 be taken, in which carriage V1 is Vfirmly held by the 'Y position the jacks 13. I

The carriage '1* beingfpositioned ,.the vpressure in the hydraulicv cylinders 48 is relieved so that the supplemental lsupporting frame 44 is lowered until its shoe member v95 rests on the' ground or floor of the 'compartment in which the machine Ais operating.: The hy#VV lower the carrier frame 56 to 4bring thebit 71 draulic cylinder 61 is then operated tov raise 0r at the end of the reciprocatory carriage 64 to the elevation where it is desired to cut into the wall of coal or shovel that which is already loosened. The vertical adjustment being effected, the bit maybe brought to its working positionlaterally of the longitudinal axis of the machine by operating the cyl-p inders 48 to raise the shoe portion of. the frame .44 oifthe `ground and'then operating the cylinder 43 so asto moveitsrack bar eX- tension 41 laccordingly` inward or outward` and thereby swing the carrier25 on the trackway 28 and about the axis of the mainfpivot 24, after which theframe 44 may be lowered to set the shoe portion 95 again on the ground.. y The bit 71 being positioned, the carriage 64 is thenforced forward under the power ofY thecylinders 74 so that the bit takes into theV mass of coal or material being mined,the

Cri.

loosened material passing over the bit onto the conveyor plate 66. As the carriage moves forward the conveyor chains 82 are operated, as hereinabove described, so that the upper flights thereof move rearward and the crossbars 83 move the material accordingly along the plate 66. rI`his movement of the conveyor is, of course, int-ermittent as it ceases to travel during the rearward movement of the carriage. I-Iowever, any material which has passed beyond the rear end portion of the carriage is deposited on the plate 58 of the carrier frame 56 and it is pushed therefrom and onto the lower inner end portion of the conveyor frame 97 by said rear end portion of the carriage during each rearward stroke of the carriage.

The endless belt conveyor on the frame 97 carries the loose material deposited thereon up the inclined portion of the frame and along the extension frame 109, which latter, as hereinabove described, is tiltable up and down about the horizontal axis 110 so as to bring the discharge end of the frame 109 into convenient working position according to the height of the cars to be loaded. So, too, as hereinabove described, said extension frame 109 may be swung together with the frame 97 laterally from the axis 96 of the latter, so as to load the material on cars located on a track at either side of the trackway 3.

By the arrangement of the endwise reciprocable and laterally swingable bit '71, it is obvious that, in addition to facilitating the shoveling and gathering of already loosened material, the bit may be used to some advantage in cutting the material loose, as its relatively sharp cutting edge, which is toothed, may be forced endwise into the material by the thrust of the carriage under the power of cylinders .74, and if the material be of considerable hardness in character the cutting may be effected by a series of endwise impacts of the bit thereagainst, coupled with a. lateral reciprocation of the bit upon the material, which may be accomplished by the power of the cylinder 43.

Obviously, many changes and alterations may be made in the structure without departing from the principle and scope of the invention as defined. by t-he appended claims. Therefore, it is not limited to the specic construction and arrangement shown in the accompanying drawings.

I claim:

1. In a loading machine, a carriage, a rangeable shoveling element at the forward end thereof, a rangeable loading conveyor extending rearward from said carriage, reciprocable means for thrusting said shoveling element longitudinally forward under power and likewise returning it, an endless conveyor, and means automatically controlled by the direction of movement of said shoveling element for operating said con`vveyor intermittently and during the forward stroke of said shoveling element for conveying the collected material from said shoveling element to said loading conveyor. n

2. In a loading machine, a main body carriage, a supporting frame swingable laterally about a vertical axis from the forward end of said carriage, a supplemental frame liftably supported on said supporting frame, a carrier frame raisable and lowerable on said supplemental frame, a longitudinally movable carriage on said carrier frame, said second-mentioned carriage having a shoveling bit at its outer end, and a conveyor on said carriage for moving the collected material thereon rearward from said shoveling bit.

3. In a loading machine, a main body carriage, a compensating columnar hydraulic jack device for anchoring said carriage to flooring below and heading above, a supporting frame swingable laterally about a vertical axis from the forward end of said carriage, hydraulic controlling and operating means for said supporting frame, a liftable supplemental frame swingable about a horizontal axis on said supporting frame, hydraulic means for raising and lowering said supplemental frame, a carrier frame swingable about the said horizontal axis with said supplemental frame, hydraulic means for raising and lowering said carrier frame on said supplemental frame, a carriage reciprocable endwise on said carrier frame, a shoveling element at the outer end of said carriage, a conveyor on said second-mentioned carriage operable upon the forward stroke of said carriage to convey collected material thereon from said shoveling element rearward, and hydraulic -means for moving said carriage forward and for returning it.

4. In a loading machine, a main body carriage, an arcuate trackway at the forward end thereof, a supporting frame pivoted about a vertical axis on said carriage and having anti-friction rollers riding on said arcuate trackway, a supplemental frame eX- tending forward from said carriage and being pivotally supported at its inner end about a horizontal axis substantially in transverse alinement with said above-mentioned vertical axis, a power lifting device for supporting said supplemental frame on said supporting frame, said supplemental frame having an upstanding cam track on the outer end portion thereof, a carrier frame'hingedly supported about the same axis with said supplemental frame and having a trackway on its underside in opposed relation to said cam track on said supplemental frame, a crossmember having bearing rollers ridable respectively on said supplemental frame cam track and said carrier frame trackway whereby to support said carrier frame, va power device for moving said cross-member endwise of V6 y i 1,750,876

said supplemental frame and said carrier frame', both forward and rearward, whereby to raise and lower said carrier frame, a carriage movable endwise on said carrier frame,

la shoveling element at the forward end of f y said second-mentioned carriage, an endless l belt conveyor on said carriage, the samev eX- tending from the region of said shoveling element to the rear end of the carriage, an auto- 10 matically releasable clutch device on said car- Y. rier frame operable by the movementof said carriage for moving said conveyor intermittently and upon the forward stroke of the carriage only whereby to move the collected l y material on said carriage rearward from said shoveling element. Y Y

Ingtestimony that I claim the foregoing I hereunto aiiX my signature. Y

JOHN L. CLARKSON. 

